Fishermen use a wide selection of complex equipment and tactics to simulate the action of live bait with their lures. They frequently choose a method of fishing that involves imparting a continuous or intermittent jigging action to a lure to attract fish. Depending upon the mood of the fish, as well as various other conditions, jigging has often proven to be a successful method of angling. Fishermen typically hold the rod in their hand and move it in various patterns to produce numerous types of movement to the lure. However, over a long period of time, this method can become tedious or boring, or it may be difficult for the elderly or disabled. A fisherman may not want to hold the fishing rod or continue to jiggle the rod constantly. In addition, the fishing regulations may allow more than one fishing line to be used by the angler. It is even more challenging to manipulate two lines simultaneously. It may be desirable to manipulate one line manually while using an automatic jigging device for another fishing rod.
For these reasons, at times, it may be desirable to have an automatic jigging device to provide the jigging motion to the fishing rod or to the fishing line. Various methods have been developed to support a fishing rod and, at the same time, provide vibration or repetitive motion to the fishing rod or directly to the fishing line itself. A number of motorized devices have been devised to automatically jig a fishing rod and/or line. These devices include attaching a vibration unit to the rod, cycling the rod vertically while supported on a rotating cam, or repeatedly deflecting the line with a rotating eccentric wheel. These mechanisms may interfere with extracting the rod from the device, quickly setting the hook, and reeling in the line. It can also be difficult to quickly and easily remove the fishing rod from the rod holder when a fish strikes the lure. They may be cumbersome, complex, and difficult to use. Some of these inventions include loose or interchangeable parts which can easily become lost or misplaced. Additionally, these devices typically do not provide a simple method of adjusting the frequency and the range or amplitude of the jigging motion.
Accordingly, there is a need for a simple, easy to use automatic jigging device that overcomes the limitations of those jigging devices of the prior art.
Examples of these inventions are disclosed in the following patents:
A fishing rod holder and jigging assembly is disclosed by Beeler in U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,650, issued on Apr. 2, 2002. In this device the rear support (35) has an oval-shaped opening (36) through which a rear end (37) of the handle portion (12) of the fishing rod (10) can be inserted. This arrangement would result in some impediment to quickly and easily extract the fishing rod to set the hook and reel in the line when a fish bites. Also, the fishing line is routed through guide member (67). This would slow the removal of the rod. The fishing line striker (61) engages the fishing line with each rotation of drive wheel (60). This repetitive action would cause undue wear on the line at the point where the striker strikes the line. In addition, the method of changing the location of the threaded guide member (67) in order to change the jigging movement would be a cumbersome process.
An automatic jigging device for a fishing rod is disclosed by Knepp in U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,656, issued on Jan. 4, 2000. Knepp provides a holder (16) that is a cylindrical sleeve to hold the handle (18) of the fishing rod (12). This sleeve would prevent quick and easy access to extract the rod when a fish bites. The rod could only be removed by the fisherman by pulling it in a longitudinal direction out of the sleeve. The device also utilizes a plurality of interchangeable elliptical cams (22) of various configurations which must be exchanged whenever the fisherman chooses to change the range of the jigging motion of the rod. Also, the cantilever positioning of the rod would necessitate the base support (14) being very securely anchored which would interfere with frequent relocation of the device. The invention is rather complex with a number of moving parts.
A programmable fish line jiggler is disclosed by Tiede in U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,939, issued on Feb. 24, 1981. The Tilde programmable device includes a supply of interchangeable pins (29) to be arranged on wheel (22) by the fisherman to select the pattern of the various individual jigging movements during each revolution of the wheel. This results in a complex jigging action with many small amplitudes of movement with each revolution of the wheel. The disadvantage is that amplitudes of movement are small with the maximum amplitude of movement at the wheel location limited to the radius dimension of the wheel. So the wheel diameter must be rather large in order to provide for much change in amplitude by changing pin locations. In addition, the number of pins constitutes loose parts which can easily become lost or misplaced. Another disadvantage of the invention is that clamp member (17) extends around the rod handle (14). This arrangement would interfere with the fisherman's ability to readily remove the fishing rod to set the hook when a fish bites.
The present invention mitigates and/or obviates the afore-described disadvantages of existing measures to provide a simple, convenient, effective motorized jigging devise that can be used by fisherman of all ages and abilities.